LibraryAware American Like Me

Be a part of the conversation!
One Book, One Elmhurst is an opportunity for the entire community to read and engage with the same book title. The Library offers discussions and programming around the book's topics. We encourage book clubs, families, and work places to consider using the title as a basis for discussion as well.

2022 SELECTION

American Like Me : Reflections on Life Between Cultures
edited by America Ferrera

Prominent Americans from diverse backgrounds and occupations share short, personal essays about their experiences growing up between cultures in the United States and their efforts to find a way to belong and to feel seen.

Discussion questions for the community.

CHECK OUT THE BOOK IN YOUR FAVORITE FORMAT

Print Book
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eBook
Click here to check out in Libby/Overdrive

Audiobook
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eAudiobook
Click here to check out in CloudLibrary

FEATURED EVENTS

One Book, One Elmhurst
Book Discussions

Thursday, Nov. 17
1-2:15 p.m.
In-person in the Gathering Room
+ virtually on Zoom.
Register.
Tuesday, Nov. 29
7-8:15 p.m.
Live in-person at the Elmhurst History Museum. Register.

Related: In Pursuit of Happiness: Immigrants in Our Communities exhibit at Elmhurst History Museum.

60 Minutes Around the World with Nestor Gomez
Friday, Nov. 11, 7-8:30 p.m.
Large Meeting Room + Live on Zoom

Join us for a storytelling showcase featuring immigrants, refugees, and their descendants and allies, who explore issues surrounding U.S. immigration, including national identity, culture, family, and borders. Hosted by Nestor Gomez: author, podcast host, and more than 60-time winner of the Moth StorySLAM.

Presented with Elmhurst History Museum.

Register.

Author Visit with Frank Waln
Monday, Nov. 28, 7-8:30 p.m.

Off Site: Elmhurst University Frick Center,
190 S. Prospect Ave. + Live on Zoom

Join us for an evening with Frank Waln, one of the authors featured in American Like Me. Waln is an award-winning Sicangu Lakota Hip Hop artist and music producer from the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota who currently calls Chicago home. He travels the world telling his story through performance and discusses how to express culture through music. Presented with Elmhurst University and the Friends of the Public Library.

Register.

Not Quite: Asian Americans and the "Other" in the Era of the Pandemic and the Uprising
Monday, September 12, 7-8:30 p.m.
Large Meeting Room + Live on Zoom

Storyteller Ada Cheng explores themes of racial profiling and the image of the perpetual foreigner.

Register.

Ravi Patel - Meet the Patels documentary

Documentary Screening: Meet the Patels
Thursday, Sept. 22, 7-8:30 p.m.
Large Meeting Room

Ravi Patel, star and co-director of this documentary, discusses his film and the impact on the Indian-American community.

No registration required.

Latinos in Illinois and the U.S.A.: Music as a Cultural History
Monday, Sept. 26, 7-8 p.m.
Large Meeting Room + Live on Zoom

Music journalist Catalina Maria Johnson, Ph.D., discusses the historic milestones of Latino music in the U.S., highlighting Mexican and Puerto Rican influences.

Register.

American Stories Through Song
Monday, Oct. 3, 7-8 p.m.
Large Meeting Room + Live on Zoom

Musician Dean Milano performs songs telling stories about heroes, scoundrels, world-changers, and everyday people.

Register.

Celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month: A Conversation for Youth and Families
Tuesday, Oct. 25, 7-8 p.m.
Large Meeting Room + Live on Zoom

Staff from Youth Outlook spotlight LGBTQ+ leaders from our state and country.

Register.

Learn & Grow Book Discussion
Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami
Thursday, Nov. 10, 7-8:15 p.m.
Gathering Room + Live on Zoom

Lalami examines how faith, gender, and race affect how easily an immigrant is accepted into American society.

Register.